Mail-marking machine.



No. 761,229. PATENTED MAY 31,1904.

7 I. G. IELFIELD; MAIL MARKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED r23. '1, 1001.

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No- 761,229. PATENT'ED MAY 31, 1904. F. G. IELFIELD. MAIL MARKINGMACHINE. APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 7, 1901.

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UNITED STATES I Patented May 31, 1904."

PATENT OFFICE.

FRED c. EL IELD, or SILVERGREEK, NE YORK, ASSIGNOR TO COLUMBIA POSTALSUPPLY COMPANY, or SILVEROREEK, NEW YORK.

MAIL-MARKING MACHI E.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 761,229, dated May 31,1904.

Application filed February-7, 1901. Serial No. 46,435- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRED G. IELFIELD, a citi-' zen of the United States,residing at Silvercreek, in the county of Chautauqua, in the Statemail-matter from-the remaining pieces preliminary to feeding it to theprinting or marking devices. Machines of this type are shown anddescribed in Letters Patent of the United States numbered 667,394 and667,395, dated February 5, 1901.

One of the objects of my present invention is to simplify the time-stopor front-registering gage by which the stamped frontv end of each pieceof mail-matter is properly registered with the printing or markingroller irrespective of the variations in the length of the pieces. 7

Further objects of my invention are to improve the construction of thefeeder which delivers the mail-pieces to the printing-roller,

"backing for marking the pieces, while at the same time preventlnglnking of the impression-roller and the consequent smutting of the backsof the pieces.

In the accompanying drawings, consisting of three sheets, Figure 1 is aside elevation of my improved machine viewed from its feed side. Fig. 2is a front elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical section in line 3- 3,Fig. 1,

on an enlarged scale. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section in line 4 4, Fig.3. Fig. 5 is a similar section in line 5 5, Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is atransverse vertical section in line 6 6, Fig. 4, on an enlarged scale.Fig. 7 is a similar section in line 7 7, Fig. 4. Fig. 8 is a sectionaltop plan view, on an enlarged scale, of the printing and impressionrollers and the shifting devices of the latter.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

A is the horizontal table of the machine, mounted on a suitablestationary frame, which is preferably composed of a horizontal metalliccasing'B and a hollow standard C, secured to the under side of saidcasing.

D is a longitudinal feed-chute for the pieces to be marked, which isarranged on the table A at the front sideof the machine and which ispreferably provided with an inclined bottom 0?. The front side of thischute is open, and its rear side is closed by a longitudinal wall orpartition d, against which the stamped ends of the pieces of mail-matterare squared, as shown in Fig. 4.

E is an upright stationary suction head or chamber having its face plate6 arranged across the front end of the feed-chute D. The bottom of thelatter slopes toward the face-plate e, as shown in Fig. 1, so that thepieces in the same automatically slide toward the face-plate, and saidbottom is preferably made vertically adjustable atits upper end in anysuitable manner, so that its pitch can be adjusted as required. In theconstruction shown in the drawings the bottom is hinged at its lower endto the table A, as shownat 62 and supported at its upper end bya curvedvertically-slotted standard 6?, which is adj ustably secured to the edgeof the table by a screw-bolt 61*, passing through the slot of thestandard and having a clamping-nut 6Z5.

The'pieces of mail-matter are preferably successively drawn against theface-plate e fro'r'n' the front end of the stack in the end ch-lite by asuction-current which acts upon tlief foremost piece through an opening0, formed in the face-plate oppositethe delivery end of the feed-chuteD, as shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 7. The pieces of mail matter areprevented from being drawn through this opening by horizontal guard-bars6 extending across the same. The suction-current is produced by anysuitable means-for instance, by a fan 6 arranged underneath the table Aand having its eye a connected with the suc' tion-head E. As shown inFigs, 3 and 5, the casing of this fan is preferably formed by the rearportion or compartment 6 of the casing B, and this compartment isseparated from the front portion 6 of said casing by a partition 6 Thesuction-head E communicates with the front compartment 6 by an openingf, Figs. 4 and 7 and said compartment is connected with the eye of thefan a by an air-trunk f, formed by the upper portion of.

the hollow standard G and communicating with the compartment 5 by anopening 3, as shown in Fig. 3. The upper side of the casing B is closedby the table A. The shaft of the fan 0 is supported in a suitablebearing arranged in the upper portion of, the

standard C, as shown in Fig. 3, and is driven from the vmaindriving-shaft g of the machine by a belt g, running around pulleyssecured to said shafts, as shown, or by other suitable means. cally inbearings mounted on the standard 0 and is provided with a driving-pulleyg and also, preferably, With a hand Wheel 9 as shown inFigs. 1 and 2.

H is an endless horizontal feed-belt against the face of which themail-pieces are successively drawn by the suction-current and whichconveys the same to the stamp canceling and postmarking devices. Thisbelt runs around horizontal guide wheels or pulleys h it, located abovethe table A and so arranged that the inner or front portion of the beltis substantially parallel with and forms a continuation of theface-plate of the suction-head E, as shown in Fig. 4.' The frontguide-pulley h of the feed-belt is arranged within the suctionhead E andmounted on a vertical shaft H, which extends downwardly through thetable A and is driven from the main shaft 9 by gearwhecls k and it,mounted on said shafts, and intermediate idler-gears if 72 meshingtherewith, as shown I in "Figs. 3' and 5. The retreating or outerportion of the feed-beltH passes through an opening formed in the wallof the suction-head E, as shown in Fig. 4. The body of the frontfeed-pulley it is made of such a diameter that it does not projectbeyond the face-plate e, and the same is provided around about one-halfof its periphery with one or more segmental flanges or guards 7L7, Fig.4, which extend beyond the face-plate and the face of the feed-belt Honce during every revolution-of said pulley and hold the foremost pieceof mail-matter in the chute out of contact with the feed-belt until saidflanges clear the piece, when the latter is drawn against the feed-beltby the suction-current and conveyed onward toward the printing or Themain shaft g is journaled verti faces of its separating-flanges it aresmooth, so that during the interval that the flanges are in contact withthe foremost piece of mailmatter in the feed-chute they simply slip overthe piece and do not feed it onward. By this construction the pieces arefed forward intermittently at regular predetermined intervals and onlywhen they are allowed to come in contact With the belt by the recessionof the flanged portion of the pulley 7a. The portion of the feed-beltopposite the feed-chute D covers a portion of the opening in thefaceplate 0 and in order to' reduce the covering area of the belt toaminimum the same is provided throughout its length with apertures orpassages 7L8, through which the suction-current acts upon the. foremostpiece of mailmatter.

I is the printing or marking roller, which is arranged above the table Abeyond the feed-chute D and on the front side of the advancing portionof the feed-belt H. This roller is secured to the upper end of the maindriving-shaft g, and the portion 71 thereof which carries the dating andcanceling dies is segmental in form and projects beyond the remainingportion of the periphery of the roller. The printing-roller is providedabove the leading end of its stamp-canceling die with a raised segmentalflange or lip z", the face of which is substantially flush with theface" of the stamp-canceling die. is an inking-roller of any suitableconstruction for applying ink to the printing-roller.

K is the im pressiOn-roller, which is arranged on the rear side of theadvancing portion of the feed-belt H opposite the printing-roller, sothat the feed-belt passes between these rollers. The impression-rolleris journaled loosely upon an upright arbor'ls, which turns in a bearingmounted on the free end of a horizontal spring-arm 70 so that theimpressionroller can yield .and accommodate itself to mail-pieces ofdifferent thicknesses.

The spring-arm k is secured at one end to the portion 70 of the rotaryarbor k, on which the impression-roller turns, is cranked or arrangedeccentrically to the lower portion thereof, so that the turning of thearbor in its bearing 71: causes the impression-roller to approach orrecede from the printing-roller.

m is a horizontally-swinging actuating lever or finger arranged abovethe table A on.

thefront side of the printing and impression rollers and having its freerear portion arranged to extend normally into the path of the advancingpieces of mail-matter, so that a piece upon entering between this fingerand the printing-roller is crowded sidewise toward the impression-rollerby the segment iof the printing-roller and its flange z" and in turnpushes the actuating-finger in the same direction. This finger isyieldingly held in its projected position by a spring m, secured at oneend to an arm m of the finger and at its other end to the table, asshown in Figs. 4 and 8. The cranked arbor k is turned by the finger mthrough the medium of a rock-arm m secured to the upper end of the arborand connected with a rigid arm or lateral extension m of the finger. Therocking movement of the arbor is limited in both directions by a radialstop-arm a, secured to the upper end of the arbor and playing betweentwo stoplugs n 71 which are arranged on a segment 72 secured to theupper side of the table A, as shown in Figs. 4, 6, and 8. The crankedarbor is is so arranged and connected with the finger m that when thefinger is in its projected position, in which there is no mail-piecebetween it and the printing-roller, the impression-roller K is retractedclear of the printing-roller, while when saidfinger is swung inwardly bya piece of mail-matter the-cranked arbor is turned in the properdirection. to

cause the impression-rollerto approach the printing-roller and form aproper backing for the P1806 while thesarne receives the impression ofthe stamp-canceling and postmarking dies. By this action of. theimpression-roller the latter automatically recedes from the printingroller when the rollers run idle, thereby effectually guarding againstinking of the roller and smutting of the backs of the piecessubsequently passed through the machine, while as soon as apieceapproaches the meeting portions of the printing and impression rollersthe impression-roller automatically advances in close proximity to theprinting-roller, thereby delivering a proper impression upon the piece.The actuating-finger m is arranged in line with the space between theupper side of the printing-roller and its raised lip i, so that when themachine temporarily runs idle the finger extends into said. space and isunaffected by the rotation of the printing-roller.

0 is a supplemental suction head or retarder arranged above the table Abetween the feedchute D and the printing-roller I and facing theadvancingportion of the feed-belt H. This suction-head has a face-plate0, arranged parallel with the feed-belt and provided with asuction-opening 0 similar to the head of the suction-separator E. Thissupplemental suction-head communicates with the suction-- chamber .7) ofthe casing B, so that an air-current isdrawn through the face-plate ofsaid head. In case more thanone piece of mailmatter should be separatedfrom the stack and feel toward the printing devices the suctioncurrentthrough the supplemental head 0 draws the surplus piece or piecesagainst the faceplate of said head and holdsback suchpieces until thepiece which is in contact with the feed-belt H has passed between theprinting and impression rollers, when the next retarded piece will bepushed away from the face-plate of the supplemental suction-head 0 bythesalient portions t a" of the printing-roller and fed between thelatter and the impression-roller. The printing and impression rollersare located at such a distance from the suction-separator E that theadvancing end of the shortest piece of mail-matter enters betweensaidrollers before said piece passes beyond the influence of theair-current through the separator, and the supplemental suction-head 0is smaller than the head'of the suction-separator, so that thesupplemental or retarding current is weaker than the separator-currentand does not withdraw the pieces from the feed-belt H when a' singlepiece is fed at a time. The face-plate of the suction-retarder 0 isarranged at a sufficient distance from the feed-belt H to permit thepassage of the thickest mail-matter.

In order to further guard against the feeding of more, than a singlepiece of mail-matter at a time, a yielding retarding-finger p isarranged to extend across the letter-path at the front side of thesuction-retarder 0, so as to interceptv the surplus pieces. This fingeris pivoted to the front wall of the suctionhead oby a vertical pin andis yieldingly held in its normal position by a spring 19, as mostclearly shown in Fig. 8. The retarding-finger 19, while allowing asingle piece of mail-matter to pass by it at a time, tends to hold backany additional piece or pieces in case two or more should beaccidentally separated from the stack in the feed-chute and fed forwardby the fed-belt.

q is a stationary registering stop or gage against which the pieces ofmail-matter are registered'before being allowed to pass between theprinting and impression rollers I and K, so that the canceling lines orcharacters are printed squarely upon the postagestamps affixed to themail-matter. This step preferably consists of 'a fixed lip which iscarried by the free end of a horizontal arm q, secured to the head 0 ofthe suction-retarder. The stop (1 is located above the printing-rollerimmediately in rear of a line drawn through the axes of the printing andimpression rollers, and the face of the stop is sufiiciently abrupt toarrest each piece of mail-matter as it is propelled forwardly by thefeed-belt H. During each rotation of the printing-roller the salientsegment 2 of this roller and its segmental flange or lip a" strikeagainst the piece of mail-matter which has been prev1ouslyar-.

tween the rollers.

stop by the printing-roller;

' mail-matter. wardly to a face-plate 8, arranged across the thefeed-chute. shifted to the front end of the receiving-chute, 6o

, matter in the feed-chute slide toward the face- 'rested by the stopand press the piece toward the feed-belt a suflicient distance to clearthe stop. The piece is then seized by the impres- -sion roller and thesalient portions of the printing-roller and propelled onwardly be- Theface of the stop (1 is slightly beveled. to facilitate the disengagementof the piece of mail-matter from the In this manner each piece ispositively arrested at a predetermined point before being allowed toenter front end of thereceiving-chute substantially in line with theadvancing portion of the feedbelt H, as shown in Fig. 4.

Any suitable device may be employed for stacking or piling the markedpieces in the receiving-chute, or the marked pieces may be otherwisedisposed of. The stacking devices shown in the drawings consist ofprojecting cams or beveled teeth It, formed at the edges of the flangesof the rear belt-pulley it. During the rotation of these cams they aresuccessively projected through a cut-away portion t formed in theface-plate s and bear with their beveled sides against the front end ofthe stack of marked mail-matter in the receiving-chute,pressing thematter backwardly and stacking the newly-arrived marked piecesagainstthe front end of the stack.

a is the usual receding block or abutment in the receiving-chute,against which the mailmatter is banked.

'v is a shelf upon which the mail-matter may be piled preparatory toplacing it into the feedchute in small batches.

The printing-roller is geared to run at the same speed as the feed-belt.

The operation of the machine, briefly stated, is as follows: A batch ofmail-matter to be marked is placed edgewise in the feed-chute- ,D in aninverted position with the backs of the pieces facing the feed-belt Hand the face' plate of the suction separator E and the stamped endssquared against the rear wall of The sliding abutment a is and themachine is started. The pieces of mailplate of the suction-separator Eby gravity, bringing the foremost piece within the range of theair-current through the separator E. The current acting upon theforemost piece separates the same from the stack and draws I the pieceagainst the adjacent portion of the feed-belt H in case the projectingflanges k of the front guide-pulley h are at that moment behind theface-plate of the suction-separator or against said flanges in case theyproject beyond the face-plate and the feed-belt at that time. Theseparated piece covers the suction-opening e entirely or partly andshuts off the air-current correspondingly. As soon as the foremost pieceis allowed to come in contact with the feed-belt it is held against thebelt by the air-current and carried onward bythe belt past theretarding-finger p and the suction-retarder 0 and against theregisteringstop q. The registered piece is next pressed laterally awayfrom the stop by the salient portions i t" of the printing-roller I, andthe released piece in turn presses the actuatingfinger an out of thepath of the mail-pieces, thereby shifting the impression-roller K towardthe printing-roller, as hereinbefore described. Immediately after thisaction takes place the front end of the piece is seized by the printingand impressionrollers and fed onward between the same, thereby cancelingand postmarking the piece. The marked piece is delivered into the frontend of the receiving-chute R by the printing and impression rollers,whereupon it is pressed backward in the chute by the stacker.

The segmental flanges [L7 of the front beltpulley lb extend around asufficient portion of the circumference of the pulley to hold theforemost piece of the stack in the feed-chute D away from the feed-beltH until the piece previously separated from-the stack and fed onward bythe belthas entered between the printing and impression rollers.

It will be observed that in this machine the impression-roller isadvanced to its operative position by causing each piece of mail-matterto be pressed sidewise against the actuatingfinger m, which controls theaction of the cranked arbor of the impression-roller. The pieces aretherefore not liable to buckle and actuate the shifting devices of theimpressionroller in an uncertain manner, as is liable to be the casewhen said'shifting devices are engaged or tripped by the front edge ofeach piece of mail-matter.

The impression-roller is preferably provided on its periphery withoblique or spiral ribs, Figs. 3 and 6, which form a backing forthemail-matter while the impression is deliveredupon the same. Theseribs preferably have the form ofv a screw-thread which extends entirelyaround the impression-roller, as shown, but theymay extend only overthat part of the face of the roller which coincides with the printingdie or dies on the printingroller. These ribs intersect the horizontalribs of the canceling-die of the printing-roller, and thereby form asubstantial backing for the mail-matter duringthe delivery of the im-IZC pression. In the operation of the machine if apiece of mail-mattershould not quite reach its proper register when the dies of theprinting-roller comeopposite the impression-roller these rollers wouldbe permitted to touch slightly. The spiral ribs or threads of theimpression-roller, however, present so small a surface that noconsiderable amount of ink will be received by said roller, and thepieces will be but slightly smutted under the abovementioned condition.-

' By employing the casing B between the table A and the standard G thesame serves as a casing for the fan 6 and also asa housing for thegear-wheels by which the feed-belt is driven from the main shaft, whilethe enlarged upper portion of the hollow standard forms a housing forthe driving-belt and pulleys of against the feeder, substantially as setforth. 7

2. The combination with a chute or support for the mail-matter to bemarked, and a marking mechanism, of a traveling feed-belt running aroundguide-pulleys and arranged to convey the mail-matter from said chutetothe marking mechanism, one of said guide-pub leys being arranged atthe front end of said chute and provided around a portion of itscircumference with a guard or flange which projects beyond the face ofsaid traveling belt, and a suction-head which faces the stack ofmail-matter in said chute and draws the foremost piece against thefeed-belt, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a chute for the mail-matter to be marked, and amarking mechanism, of a suction head or separator arranged at the frontend of said chute and having a vertically disposed suction opening whichfaces said chute, and a traveling feedbelt arranged to run across saidsuction-opening and provided with air apertures or passages, thesuction-opening having an unobstructed part at one side of the beltthrough which communication is had with the chute, substantially as setforth.

4. The combination with a chute or support and a marking mechanism, of abelt for carrying the mail-matter extending to and past said markingmechanism, and a suction-head having an opening arranged at one end ofsaid belt and facing said chute or support.

5. The combination with a chute or support for the mail-matter to bemarked, a marking mechanism, and a traveling feed-belt, of a suctionhead or separator arranged at the front end of said chute and having asuctionopening which faces the latter and is exposed to one side of saidbelt, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a chute or support for the mail-matter to bemarked, and a marking mechanism, of a suction head or separator arrangedat the frontv end of said chute, and having a suction-opening whichfaces the latter, and a traveling feed-belt of less width than saidsuction-opening arranged to run across the same, substantially asdescribed.

7. T hecombination with a chute or support for the mail-matter to bemarked, and a marking mechanism, of a feeder for moving the mail-matterfrom said chute to the marking mechanism, and a suction-head which isarranged between said feeder and the marking mechanism adjacent to thepath of the mailmatter and which holds back any surplus pieces ofmail-matter propelled toward the marking mechanism by the feeder,substantially as set forth.

8. The combination with a chute or support for the stack of pieces to bemarked, and a marking mechanism, of a feeder for moving the mail-matterfrom said chute to the marking mechanism, a suction-separator which isarranged at the front end of said chute at one side of the path of themail-matter and which separates the foremost piece from the stack anddraws the same against said feeder, and a supplemental suction-headarranged at the opposite side of said path between said chute and themarking mechanism, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination with a support for the stack of pieces to be marked,of a separating mechanism whereby the foremost piece is separated fromthe stack, an impressionroller, an opposing printing-roller having aprojecting segment, a feeder for propelling the separated pieces towardthe printingroller, and a fixed registering-stoparranged in the path ofthe pieces immediately in rear of a line drawn through the axes of theprinting and impression rollers, substantially as i set forth.

10. The combination with a support for the stack of pieces to be marked,of a suction-separator whereby the foremost piece is separated from thestack, a marking mechanism, a trav: eling feed-belt which conveys theseparated pieces toward the marking mechanism, a fixed registering-stopprojecting into the path of the mail-matter between said chute and themarking mechanism, and means whereby each arrested piece is releasedfrom said stop and presented to the markingmechanism, substantially asset forth.

11. The combination with a chute or support for the mail-matter to bemarked, of a printing-roller, a feeder for propelling the pieces ofmail-matter from said chute to the printing-roller, animpression-roller, a'rotary arbor having a cranked or eccentric portionupon which the impression-roller is mounted, and an actuating-fingerconnected with said cranked arbor and projecting into the-path of themail-pieces, substantially as setforth.

12. The combination with a chute or support for the mail-matter to bemarked, of a printing-roller, a feeder for propelling the pieces ofmail-matter from said chute to the printing-roller, animpression-roller, a rotary arborhavingarock-armandacrankedoreccentricportion upon which the impression-roller is mounted, an actuating-fingerconnected with said rock-arm and projecting into the path of theadvancing mail-pieces, and a spring which tends to hold said finger inits projected position, substantially as set forth.

a 13. The combination with a chute or support for. the mail-matter to bemarked, of a printing-roller, a feeder for propelling the piecesofmail-matter from said chute to the printing-roller, animpression-roller, a rotary arbor having a cranked or eccentric portionupon Which the impression-roller is mounted, an actuating fingerconnected with said cranked arbor and projecting into the'path of themail-pieces, and stops for limiting the rotation of said arbor,substantially as set forth. 7

14. The combination with a chute or support for the mail-matter to bemarked, of a printing-roller having a projecting segment arranged tomove the pieces of mail-matter laterally, a feeder for propelling thepieces from said chute toward the printing-roller, an impression-rollermovable toward and from the printing-roller, a movable actuating-fingerprojectinginto the path of the mail-pieces opposite the printing-rollerand adapted to be pressed laterally by contact with the side of eachmail-piece when the same is moved laterally by thesegment of theprinting-roller, and a shifting device controlled by said finger, andoperating to move the impression-roller toward the printing-roller,substantially as set forth.

15. In a mail-marking machine, the combination with a table or supportand a feedehute mounted thereon, of a printing mechanism, a suction heador separator facing the front end of said chute, a casing arrangedunderneath said table and divided into two compartments whichcommunicate with each other by an air-passage, said suction-headcommunicating with one of said. compartments, a fan arranged in theother of said compartments, a feeder for propelling the pieces ofmailmatter from said chute to the printing mechanism, anddriving-gearing for said feeder arranged in the compartment of saidcasing with which said suction-head communicates, substantially as setforth.

Witness my hand this 2d 1901.

FRED C. IELFIELD.

' Witnesses:

J NO. J. BONNER CLAUDIA M.'BENTLEY.

day of February,

